Air India flight lands in Zurich amid Heathrow snag

Air India flight AI 131, carrying over 290 passengers, made an emergency landing in Zurich due to a technical issue that disrupted air traffic control systems in the UK. The problem, caused by a NATS technical issue, affected multiple airports including London Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted. While arriving flights were not immediately impacted, passengers were instructed to stay onboard the aircraft in Zurich while the situation at Heathrow was resolved.

Heathrow Airport reported that the technical issue also affected departing flights across UK airports, with around 425 flights to and from UK airports, including Heathrow, being cancelled. Budget carrier EasyJet confirmed that some of its flights were unable to operate due to the system failure, causing delays across Europe. NATS, Britain's air traffic control provider, was working with Heathrow to resolve the issue.